Austin welcomes new commitment to border force

Dudley MP Ian Austin has welcomed a new commitment from Labour to recruit an extra 1,000 UK border guards.

Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary announced the measure to put an extra 1,000 guards on the border funded by charges for visitors from other countries.

Austin has been campaigning in Parliament for stronger border controls after holding a dozen meetings with people in Dudley to discuss immigration.

The MP has previously criticised the government for a 50 per cent drop in the number of people stopped and turned away at the border and for claims that the Home Office may never remove 175,000 failed asylum seekers due to ‘limited resources’.

Ian Austin said:

“The government has weakened border controls and completely failed to meet their immigration target, so it’s no wonder people in Dudley think politicians in Westminster haven’t been listening.

“I’m pleased that a Labour government would listen to local people on this issue and make sure we have enough guards to control our borders properly.

“People in London might not like it, but it's my job to listen to local people and I’ll keep speaking up for them in the House of Commons on this issue.”